episode_0041

There was no particular reason for me to listen to Jace’s wife, Selnia’s request.

Not only was my family and I not related to her by blood, but to be honest, her attitude toward Elthea was not very good.

but.

“Elsia, give me the firewood.”

“Okay.”

I decided to help her.

Not her, to be exact, but her husband, Jace.

“Thank you.”

“Please don’t thank me.”

“Yes?”

So I cautioned Selnia.

“The reason I gave you the firewood is because your husband, Jace, lost his leg while protecting the villagers during the war, and successfully completed guard duty for the villagers. Since I received help from him, I will help him this time.”

To sum up, I just gave it to him this time, but next time he said he should pay a fair price.

“…Okay.”

Of course, Selnia must have noticed as well, as her happy expression disappeared and she quickly became wary of me.

Do you think I will easily become a pushover? I’m only a fan of my family.

So Selnia received the firewood, which was black wood, and left. Well, that amount should last for about two weeks.

“Sorry.”

“What?”

“I worried you for no reason.”

“There’s nothing like that in particular. Next time you see someone like that, tell me right away. Don’t deal with them directly.”

“Yes.”

Not everyone in a rural village is kind to their neighbors, and being poor does not necessarily mean they are good people. A person’s generosity comes from wealth, and the standard of good and evil is different for each person. Therefore, the head of the household had to be strong and cool-headed for the sake of the family. Rather than thinking about giving, we should think about not being taken away. It may be a harsh thing to say, but this is the way to live in this world and protect your family.

“Elsia, how much firewood do you have left?”

“Excluding what I gave to Selina, I have about three months’ worth left.”

“Quite a lot left.”

“But I don’t know if I can handle this now that I don’t know when winter will end.”

“It’s okay. Because black trees are common in the dark forest. You can do this by cutting down black trees on a regular basis.”

“Then how about doing business now?”

“Business?”

“Yes. Normally it wouldn’t sell, but with this weather, the value of firewood will increase. Also, since blackwood itself performs well as firewood, it can be sold at a high price.”

“Hmm… But if you sell only within the village, there isn’t much profit, right? And I think we might look at each other hatefully for no reason.”

“No. There is a separate trick.”

“???”

Elthea explained her thoughts to me step by step.

Perhaps because she was the daughter of a merchant, her method of doing business in this direction was unique. I think he did well to follow Chloe’s advice and accept her as his concubine.

“Surely, emotions won’t build up if you do that.”

I adopted Elthea’s advice.

If you do well, you will be able to use this opportunity to accumulate capital.

“Then I guess I can save the black tree?”

“Yes. please. Sian.”

“Well, it’s something you have to do as the head of the household.”

. . .

I decided to do it alone to save the black tree.

Clara seemed to want to go with me, but since it was simple labor, it was easier and faster to run by myself rather than taking her with me.

“We should go together next time. Got it?”

“Okay, let’s go together next time.”

After coming out as a woman, Clara wanted to be with me differently than last time.

It seemed like he clearly didn’t like exercise, but I don’t know what caused the change.

And as expected, the village chief summoned the village men. The reason was, of course, the continuing winter.

“In times like these, we need to join forces.”

The village chief wanted the village to become one by spreading ideals, but unfortunately, people could not live based on ideals alone.

Several village men expressed concern.

“It is difficult for us to share firewood for free.”

“That’s right. Firewood in our house is also tight.”

“How about we get together and chop firewood?”

“In this cold? I feel like I’m going to die from the cold coming here.”

The village man’s words had some truth.

‘It’s cold, but it’s not too cold.’

This winter feels more than twice as cold as last winter. It was even spring around this time last year.

Even though the weather is strange, it is still very strange.

Tom poked my side and asked me while I was drinking tea and watching the meeting.

“Xian, do you have any good ideas?”

“No matter how I am, I am helpless in front of nature.”

“Of course, in front of nature, no one can win except the emperor.”

to? The emperor defeats nature?

What kind of superhuman is the emperor here?

“But do you have enough firewood?”

“Enough. And if I run out of firewood, I can just get it from the dark forest.”

“Now that you say that, I envy you for being a hunter at times like this.”

“Would you like to go? I will guide you.”

“Who are you planning to make a guest? Even if I die, I will not enter the dark forest.”

Tom trembled, as if he had bad memories of the dark forest.

“You hate it so much, but you still live in this town.”

“Aren’t you there? This town is safe with you.”

I felt slightly happy about Tom’s words.

I never thought you would praise me like this in front of everyone.

“That’s right. I’ll only tell this to Tom.”

“What are you planning again?”

I had a crush on him, so I whispered to Tom about what I had planned.

But again? If anyone hears it, they’ll think I’m in the dark.

The final dark figure in the rural village was the village head hunter. A similar web novel will be made.

. . .

Carlson had a routine he did every morning. It’s about training your sword skills.

Although he was unable to advance to the next level, the 4th level, due to lack of talent, he could not give up the habits he had continuously built up.

It may have seemed foolish to anyone, but it was now an inseparable way of life for Carlson.

Today again, a woman came before him as he wielded a sword.

A beautiful girl with blond hair wearing leather clothes and a black bow.

It was Clara who fought in the war together.

“Good morning, leader.”

“Leon? That outfit… ”

“Well, that’s it… ”

Clara, who showed herself as a woman in front of people other than her family for the first time, seemed to be embarrassed and wiggled her fingers.

“I see. Looks like you’ve decided.”

“Yes… Somehow it happened.”

Carlson, like the village chief, was one of the people who knew that Clara was a woman.

The village chief understood Sylvia’s family situation, and Carlson owed his life to Clara’s paternal grandfather.

The two tried to keep Clara’s secret.

In particular, Carlson put in a lot of effort to protect Clara on the battlefield.

He taught her basic swordsmanship and helped her before she, a woman, got into trouble.

Thanks to Carlson, who had such a kind heart and strong sense of responsibility, Clara was able to stay safe in a dangerous battlefield as a woman, and Clara was grateful to Carlson for that.

“I came to say thank you.”

“What is gratitude? When I think about the grace I received from Andrew, my feet feel new. And you overcame it, not with my help, but with your efforts.”

Carlson, who had some knowledge of medicine and owed his life to former village chief Andrew, thought it natural to help Clara. Also, considering Clara’s age and being around the same age as my niece, I was saddened by the situation she was facing.

Of course, he only helped her in the way he could.

Because he also has a family to protect and a wife he loves. No matter how much grace he received, his family came first to him.

Maybe that’s the difference between Sian and Carlson.

And it was also the reason why the person Clara ultimately fell in love with was Sian, not Carlson.

If it were Sian, he would try to protect Clara no matter what.

And Sian never forgets the neighbor who helped his woman.

“Xian wants me to tell you.”

“You don’t have to give me this.”

After hearing Clara’s story, Sian wanted to thank Carlson in person, but due to the recent longer winter, she was busy looking for firewood. So he sent Clara with a gift on his behalf.

And that gift…

“This is?!”

It was an aphrodisiac.

It was also an improved product compared to the last time.

“Leader?”

Clara, who did not know the identity of the aphrodisiac, glanced at Carlson, who was confused and squinted.

Carlson hurriedly hid the aphrodisiac and quickly changed the subject.

“Thank you. Oh, is that the black bow Tom was talking about?”

“Yes. It’s a gift from Xian.”

When the topic related to Xian came up, Clara made a girlish face.

Seeing the girl who was like his niece make this expression made Carlson feel overwhelmed. Would you feel this way if you had a daughter?

“Would you like to see it? I’m good at shooting a bow.”

Perhaps happy to talk about the gift the man she loved had given her, Clara took great aim and started shooting arrows. Carlson was impressed by that appearance. This is because Clara’s skills are now better than any archer she has ever seen.

‘I thought you had talent, but I never thought it would be this good.’

In a way, Carlson could be said to be Clara’s teacher.

Because it was Carlson who taught her how to strengthen her physical abilities with mana.

Of course, teaching did not mean that everyone could learn. This is because you need an innate mana sensitivity ability and mana to support it.

Therefore, it was a skill of such great importance that if you taught 10 people, only one could master it.

Fortunately, Clara, who was born with a lot of mana and was talented, was able to strengthen her physical abilities to some extent with mana. Well, it’s still much weaker than Cyan, which doesn’t use mana.